‘A NEW FORM OF BEAUTY’

Australia’s first commercial timber office building is being planned by Lendlease in the Barangaroo area of Sydney.

The six-storey International House Sydney will be made from cross laminated timber (CLT) and glue laminated timber.

CLT has a far lower carbon footprint than other building materials, the production process produces zero waste and timbers are sourced from certified sustainably managed forests.

Andrew Wilson, the managing director of Barangaroo South, said: “We are well on our way to creating Australia’s first large-scale carbon-neutral community and we are extremely proud to be delivering this exciting building.

“International House Sydney fronts directly onto Exchange Square, an entry point into the precinct, and will be a symbol of innovation and sustainability, greeting some 33,000 daily visitors as they emerge from Wynyard Walk.”

The building was designed by Jonathan Evans and Alec Tzannes, of Tzannes Associates.

Tzannes said: “The architecture of International House Sydney reflects a new form of beauty. Beyond shape and surface, it is deep design, renewing architecture’s role to serve the greater social purpose of lowering carbon emissions.

“Looking from the bridges leading to Barangaroo, through the clean glass skin, the multi-storey timber structure forms the character of the architecture; the same character that from inside creates an interior environment reminiscent of the spaces often found in Sydney’s historic timber or cast iron and brick buildings from the era when warehouse buildings were crucial to Australia’s maritime economy.”

The structure is due to be completed next year.